President Donald Trump is receiving an outpouring of criticism for his comments about Baltimore from this past weekend, but one former MLB star is coming to his defense. Johnny Damon, who spent 18 years in the league, recently explained that he agreed with Trump’s assessment of Baltimore. Although he did say that the terminology used was a little harsh.
Over the weekend, President Trump used Twitter to describe the 7th District of Maryland as “a disgusting, rat and rodent-infested mess.”
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“He’s not wrong,” Damon said, according to TMZ Sports. “Baltimore was one of the best places to visit when I broke into the league in ’95. And, at the end, we didn’t really, like, enjoy going back. Towards the end, it started getting a little scarier.”
Damon actually has a belief that these divisive comments about Baltimore will lead to changes being made in the near future. The former MLB All-Star likes Baltimore but believes that there are improvements that must be made.
“I think Baltimore is a great town,” Damon said. “And this is raising awareness and hopefully they can go in and spend the hard tax-paying dollars to actually make a difference.”
Damon’s opinion falls on the opposite side of those held by Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, who was also recently asked about Trump’s comments. As he explained, Baltimore has been nothing but wonderful for him and his family.
“Well I can tell you this,” Harbaugh said. “My wife, my daughter, and me, we love Baltimore. And more than Baltimore, we love the people in Baltimore. We love the people in Baltimore everywhere. Maybe it’s because the Baltimore people love the Ravens so much, but we’ve felt nothing but love here for the last 11 years.”
That being said, Harbaugh did continue to explain that all he wants is for the two sides of the aisle and solve problems instead of arguing.
Originally a first-round pick (1992) in the amateur draft, Damon broke into MLB as a member of the Kansas City Royals in 1995. The outfielder spent six years with KC before spending the rest of his career splitting time between the Oakland A’s, the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, the Detroit Tigers, the Cleveland Indians, and the Tampa Bay Rays.
Damon was named All-Star twice in his career (2002, 2005), and he won two World Series (2004, 2009). One victory came as part of the curse-breaking Red Sox team while the other was with the Yankees.
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